


It Started With A Lucky Meowth

by pyromanicofthesea



Series: AbsoluteControlShipping Week 2020 [1]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Absolutecontrolshipping Week, First Meetings, Fluff, Gifts, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-03 20:08:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,892
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24731341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pyromanicofthesea/pseuds/pyromanicofthesea
Summary: Day Three: GiftsAll it took was three gifts, several years, and getting caught in the rain.
Relationships: Akagi | Cyrus/Sakaki | Giovanni
Series: AbsoluteControlShipping Week 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1811884
Comments: 8
Kudos: 34





	It Started With A Lucky Meowth

There are three things that Cyrus keeps on his desk. None of them are of any significance to the many passersby who cross paths with his desk on a daily basis, but to Cyrus, they mean the world. Sentimentality was always a foreign concept to the man, and he had been quite certain it would be one of the mysterious unknowns of human emotion until the end of his time. Note the past tense. Something changed when he found himself noticed by the Kanto region mafia. How he managed that while keeping to his ambitious research in Sinnoh was beyond him, and yet, he managed to catch the eye of a rather infamous man. Well, in all actuality, it was likely the region-wide television broadcasts that did him in. Not that it was something he was against, mind you, but it changed his world nonetheless.

The three items that hold such high significance are as follows: a lucky Meowth figure that could fit in one’s palm, a Moon Stone that still retains its ethereal glow despite being years old and far from its place of origin, and a cellphone that looked like a burner phone from at least five years prior.

Each item held a level of personal importance that, were he ever to be questioned, Cyrus would vehemently deny while also ensuring the indefinite safety of the items. They were, in a way, momentos, but in another way they were reminders of something he never intended on obtaining. That is, they were reminders that outside of work, Cyrus has someone he could very well call a friend, and call very much more than that should he so desire to.

The first item he received came as a great surprise, and looking back, it is entirely possible that he should have rejected the lucky Meowth, given the circumstances, but in the moment, he had been flattered beyond comparison.

It had been his first time in the Johto region, and his first time in a long time outside of Sinnoh. He, along with his lieutenant Commander, and a small collection of underlings, were traversing the Ruins of Alph in search of information on the creation myth and its validity. Before this, the search in Sinnoh had grown cold, leaving Cyrus with only rumours of a temple hidden from time somewhere inside the Johto ruin system.

He did not want to stay in Johto long. It wasn’t that he disliked the region, merely that the longer he spent away from headquarters, the greater the risk of his organization’s true nature being uncovered. The Unown held a key to the ancient past though, otherwise why else would they be found in otherwise separate regions.

It was within the Ruins of Alph, wandering within the desolate, script-covered halls, that he encountered a man dressed in a fine suit, who wore a smirk so faint it was nearly indistinguishable, who had the same smug yet confident demeanor as the Persian that stood beside him. At the time, Cyrus had no idea who the man was. Oh how quickly that changed.

“They say these scripts come to life,” the man had said to Cyrus, standing in the hallway and blocking Cyrus’s path.

“So I’ve been told.” Cyrus wasn’t there to make pleasantries, but it didn’t seem to make much of a difference to the man. He stepped aside when Cyrus continued walking, but was still in that hallway when Cyrus reached the deadend further down.

“You and your crew aren’t from around here,” the man said as Cyrus walked by the second time.

“I was unaware our place of origin was of any concern to you,” Cyrus replied, and this time met the man’s eyes. They both had a cold stare, but there was something dangerous behind the black eyes of the man who stood before him. Were he on more of a vacation and less of a research expedition, it would be rather enticing to Cyrus to get to know this man a bit better. Even at that, though, attachments always had their tendencies to get in the way, and the last thing he wanted to do was delay his goal any more than they already were.

“That would be dependent on how long you intend to stay. My name is Giovanni,” the man said, extending his hand. “I am the leader of Team Rocket, and I will soon add this region into my ownership.” Cyrus looked at Giovanni’s outstretched hand, and had the impulse to laugh in his face. He was being confronted by the mafia lord of Kanto in the musty ruins of Johto for what sounded like no other reason than he led an organization in another region. Did this man think he was also running an underground syndicate? Cyrus was fairly certain nothing about his attire suggested _involvement with the criminal underground_ , but then again, his organization was by no means a shining example of operating within the confines of the law. But really, risk of uprooting the established mafia of another region when he had plenty of other, better things to do? It was laughable.

“You can go ahead and sleep at night,” Cyrus replied, in no mood for further conversation. “I’m not interested in uprooting your organization. I have better things to do with my time.” He walked on, leaving Giovanni standing there, shocked that someone would speak to him so flippantly. A genuine smile crept across his face. Oh, he liked this one.

When Cyrus stepped off the plane after landing back in Sinnoh, he was greeted by a stewardess with a Galactic insignia on her buttoned overcoat holding a duty-free bag.

“This was sent with your bags, sir,” she said, holding out the otherwise unmarked bag. Cyrus took the bag, though he gave her a strange look. He had not bought anything in either of the airports.

“What’s in the bag, Boss?” Saturn asked, looking over Cyrus’s shoulder as they walked out of the flight terminal.

“Nothing of your concern,” Cyrus replied, though it was in no way in a sharp tone. Saturn still huffed though.

“Whatever, keep your secrets then.” Cyrus couldn’t help but roll his eyes as Saturn fell out of step with him. He did glance inside the bag, though. It contained only a wrapped box, no larger than a novelty mug. The curiosity hadn't bothered him until Saturn mentioned it. Now the curiosity was beginning to eat at him.

Cyrus managed to wait until he returned to his research laboratory before opening the package. The plastic duty-free bag it was transported in was tossed in the trash, and the carefully wrapped paper was a bit torn from the hasty opening of the package. Inside was a collectable lucky Meowth still in its unopened box, and a letter. Cyrus stared at the package's contents for a moment, frozen by surprise, before snatching the letter up and opening it to read.

'Cyrus,

Pardon the intrusion, but after our meeting I believe we would benefit by combining our forces. Despite our mutually differing goals, I am fascinated by the work your team underwent in the Ruins. I wish to offer you a friend in the Kanto-Johto regions. Think about my offer. We will meet again.

Giovanni'

Cyrus read the letter, written in a scratched yet eloquent penmanship, once more before throwing it in the trash. He did not doubt, however, that he would see Giovanni again. It would be a thought for another day.

Another day ending up being the day when he received the Moon Stone he has yet to use or discard. It was seven months after his last encounter with Giovanni, and three months since he moved the lucky Meowth from his desk drawer to his desk's surface. He wasn't looking forward to the next encounter, not by any means. Well, perhaps a little. Perhaps he only moved the trinket onto his desk for good luck.

This time, Cyrus was in Kanto. Once again, a small team of one Commander and a handful of underlings accompanied him. They were spread out in groups, all reporting to either himself or Mars as they gathered readings on the meteorites and strange stones found scattered in the higher levels of Mt. Moon. When he was approached by Giovanni, he was alone on the summit of the mountain, looking out on the region below. He could see the Lavender Tower from where he stood, and the routes below.

"Mars, have you found- oh, you," Cyrus said, turning to the sound of footsteps to fight not his accompanying Commander, but the mafia leader from the Ruins of Alph.

"'Oh, you', what a greeting," Giovanni said, and were it someone else, he would have had with him a dangerous tone. Instead, he sounded amused by Cyrus's disregard. He continued to walk forward until he stood beside Cyrus. “Have you given any thought to my offer?” Giovanni asked as he looked out on the region’s expanse.

“I have no desire to merge my organization with your Team Rocket, as you call it,” Cyrus said, and he looked over at Giovanni just in time to see the man steel his expression. Giovanni did not turn to meet Cyrus’s gaze, nor did he make any move to turn to leave. “However, I see no reason why we could not be mutually beneficial regardless.”

“I’m glad to hear that, Cyrus,” Giovanni said, and the way he said his name gave Cyrus a thrill he could not pinpoint the underlying cause of just then. The look Giovanni gave him when he finally met the man’s eyes sent a shiver down Cyrus’s back. Giovanni offered his hand, and this time Cyrus shook it. Both men held on for what was surely a few seconds too long, and when they both let go, a Moon Stone sat in Cyrus’s palm. The dark stone had a faint glow about it, casting parts of Cyrus’s pale hand an eerie faded blue. Cyrus looked at it, and then at Giovanni in confusion just in time to see Giovanni start to walk away.

“Hey! What’s this for?” Cyrus called after him, holding up the Moon Stone

“It might come in handy someday,” Giovanni called back, though he didn’t stop or turn around. Cyrus stood there, watching him walk away, and when Giovanni was gone, Cyrus looked back down at the Moon Stone. None of his Pokemon could use it. He really had no use for it.

The Moon Stone was placed beside the lucky Moewth as soon as he returned to headquarters.

The third item was obtained a year after the Moon Stone. The weather was awful that night. A storm from the east had rolled in, whipping up winds and a downpour on the cities to the east of Mt. Coronet. It was not the type of night to be out at the docks of Canalave City, awaiting a midnight shipment of equipment necessary for building what would be the greatest capture device the world would ever know. Yet, Cyrus sat in one of Galactic’s vans in the drenching rain, awaiting the boat in place of the lieutenant Commander who had been assigned to pick the equipment up. Saturn had better be grateful that Cyrus changed his assignments once he saw the weather report. He absolutely changed Saturn’s assignments because he wanted to be there himself if reports of the ship going down in the storm came in, not because he didn’t want the man to be stuck in the pouring rain all night. Definitely not.

The boat arrived half an hour late, though given the storm, Cyrus was just glad that the boat made it at all. He stepped out of the van and up to the end of the wooden dock as the boat docked, awaiting the crew leader to approach him about the shipment. Sure enough, several minutes after the boat was docked and settled, a woman in a long raincoat and hardhat approached him.

“Do you have business here?” she asked, clipboard with protective plastic in hand as the bridging ladder was slid into place.

“I’m here on behalf of Team Galactic, to pick up a shipment of four crates. I’ll need them loaded into the back of my van” Cyrus said, and the woman nodded.

“One moment please.” She turned and hollered back to the crewmen on deck, “alright boys, load up the crates marked ‘Galactic’!” She was met with a muddled chorus of ‘aye-aye’s and ‘yes ma’am’s as she smiled at Cyrus. “We’ll have everything loaded up quickly. Could you back your van up to the loading line?” she asked, and pointed to the white strip of bricks six feet away from the wooden dock.

“Of course,” Cyrus said, and walked back to the van, now thoroughly soaked to the bone just from the brief interaction with the crew leader. He started the van, and backed it up toward the dock, inching backwards until the crew leader held out her hand to stop. He parked the van and got back out to unlock the back doors. As he opened them, someone else stepped off the boat and walked up to him. He wore a long trench coat with four large buttons, and his face was hidden beneath the black hat he wore. The hat had what looked like a black band stripe, but it was difficult to see in the rain and the dull dock lights. The clothes looked to be designer, though they were surely ruined in the weather.

“We meet again, Cyrus.” That voice! When Cyrus turned around, he was met with the face of Giovanni just as the man took off his hat in a sign of respect. He returned his hat to his head as Cyrus stared at him. Cyrus stepped aside for the dock workers to load up the van before he said anything in response.

“What are you doing here?” Cyrus asked, and he had half a mind to scold the older man for standing out in the rain, let alone traveling to Sinnoh on a boat during such weather.

“Team Rocket has met some unfortunate conflicts, so I’ve decided to travel for now to allow my associates to reconvene and grow stronger,” Giovanni said over the pouring rain. “I hope you don’t mind, but Sinnoh was the first region I thought of that would not know my face so well as Kanto or Johto.”

“I don’t mind at all,” Cyrus answered surprisingly honestly. “You should come inside though, a man as weathered as you will catch his death in a storm like this. The door is unlocked.” Giovanni scoffed, but walked over to the passenger side of the van and got inside nonetheless. Cyrus followed suit, walking over and getting into the driver’s side. He shook the water from his hair, much to Giovanni’s visible distaste.

“I was going to thank you, but now I regret accepting your generosity,” Giovanni said with a sneer, as if he could get any more drenched than he already had. Cyrus couldn’t help the small smile that flashed across his usually stoic features for just the moment.

“You’re more than welcome to step back out into the rain,” Cyrus said, and Giovanni scoffed once more. He said nothing, but he set his soaked hat on the floor of the van. He was not about to trade a warm, dry seat for the cold wet outdoors anytime soon.

The two didn’t speak a word until the crew leader knocked on the window, though Giovanni looked more and more like there was something he wanted to say. Cyrus rolled the window down for the woman outside.

“The last box has been loaded up, and the back doors have been closed. I just need you to sign this confirming you’ve received your shipments,” she said, and handed over the clipboard she held with her. Cyrus flipped up the now-wet plastic covering, and used the pen tied onto the clipboard to sign the shipment form on the top page. He handed the clipboard back to the woman, and she smiled at him. “That’s everything then, have a good night, sir.” He rolled up the window as the woman walked back to the ship. He started the van and started to drive off towards Veilstone City, already thinking about how best to sneak Giovanni into headquarters.

It was about forty-five minutes into the drive that either of the two men said a word. Cyrus had caught Giovanni stealing glances at him multiple times, and he fought the impulse to move his hand to rest on Giovanni’s thigh. He would blame the late night, were he ever asked about his thoughts.

“You can stay as long as you’d like,” Cyrus said, though he kept his eyes on the road. “There will be dry clothes for you as well.”

“Thank you, Cyrus,” Giovanni said, looking out the window at the passing shadowy trees. “Your clothes do not look as though they will dry as easily as my own.”

“Don’t worry about my clothes,’ Cyrus said as he patted Giovanni’s thigh. Giovanni huffed out a laugh as Cyrus’s hand stilled without the blue-haired man realizing it. In fact, he didn’t realize it until Giovanni spoke again.

“Cyrus.” And just like that, the young organization leader was _painfully_ aware of what he had done, and he pulled his hand away so fast one would think he had been burned.

“My apologies, your gifts, the looks, I was under the impression that-”

“Cyrus, it’s quite alright,” Giovanni said with a soft smile. He took Cyrus’s hand, the one that had previously been on his leg, and brought it to his lips. He kissed the back of it, light as a feather. “You would not be wrong. I had every intention to play a longer game of courtship, though. You did not strike me as the type to become entranced so easily.”

“I’m not,” Cyrus said, though he made no move to remove his hand from Giovanni’s. The two remained like that in peaceful silence until they reached Veilstone in the early hours of the morning. Sunrise was one of the few times during a day that there would be hardly anyone up aside from Saturn and Cyrus, cooped up in the laboratory working on research cross referencing or building the facilities necessary to control the Pokemon of legends.

Cyrus pulled the van into the warehouse yard, and got out to open the warehouse door. The rain had yet to lighten up, and what little his clothes had dried during the drive was gone almost as soon as he stepped outside. He opened the warehouse door just enough for the van to fit through, got back inside the van, and drove it into the open floor of the warehouse.

“I’ll have the yard hands unload everything in the morning,” Cyrus said as he turned off the van and got out. Giovanni followed, and Cyrus pressed a button on the panel near the staircase before heading down. The warehouse door closed and locked automatically, and Giovanni wondered why there hadn’t been a button like that on the outside of the warehouse.

Giovanni followed Cyrus down into the corridors beneath the warehouse, through narrow halls and down multiple staircases, until the two reached two metal doors. Cyrus swiped a keycard, and the doors opened. The doors shut behind the two automatically, and Cyrus led Giovanni up another flight of stairs. Three more floors up, this time primarily via warp panel, and Giovanni was certain he would get horribly lost if he tried to snoop around the place. He hoped that was Cyrus’s intention, and not that the man was unable to create a navigable base. Though, Cyrus was having no problem knowing exactly where to go, as the two entered Cyrus’s personal laboratory in no time. Connected to the lab was Cyrus’s bedroom, living area, bathroom, and other amenities he had deemed necessary during the reconstruction of the building.

Cyrus brought Giovanni back into his living space, and left him to wait in the main area while he grabbed clothes he guessed would fit him. He came back with a Galactic shirt and sweatpants, though he was unsure if either were actually the right size.

“Here,” he said as he handed Giovanni the clothes. “These are the most likely to fit you.” Giovanni took the clothes with a nod, and went into the bathroom to change and dry off. Cyrus opted to strip in his bedroom, not needing a towel as badly except for his hair.

When the two reconvened in the living area, Cyrus was glad that the clothes appeared to fit Giovanni comfortably enough. It was strange seeing the normally-well-dressed man in a t-shirt and sweatpants, but somehow it made him smile.

“Do you have sheets for the couch?” Giovanni asked, looking around but not seeing a linen closet. “Or, a blanket?”

“The linen closet is in my room,” Cyrus replied. “There are extra pillows there as well.” Giovanni went to fetch them, but Cyrus spoke up just before Giovanni went through the door. “I don’t know how far or how fast you wish to take this, but, if it is agreeable to you, you are welcomed to share my bed.”

“Is that so?” Giovanni didn’t want to turn around, knowing there was a soft blush creeping onto his cheeks. When was the last time he was this close to someone? At least ten years ago, maybe longer. It felt like longer. “That would be a welcomed change to my nightly routine.”

When the two retired for the night, they began facing opposite directions. By the middle of the night, however, Giovanni had an arm wrapped around Cyrus's waist, his chest pressed against Cyrus's back. It wasn't like that when Cyrus awoke, however. Cyrus woke up alone, Giovanni and his clothes that were once in the dryer from the night before nowhere to be seen. All that remained as a hint to Giovanni having been there at all was a flip phone sitting on Cyrus's nightstand, and a small note beside it.

'Cyrus,

I'll call you when I can commit.'

Cyrus flipped open the burner phone, and under the contacts list there was only one name. Giovanni. Cyrus closed the phone, and later that evening, put the phone on his desk beside the lucky Meowth and the Moon Stone.

That was two years ago, and still those items sit. Some days Cyrus saw them as just that: items. Trinkets. Junk he was too sentimental to throw away. Other days, he saw them for what they were: gifts. He just hoped Giovanni was the sort to follow through.

As if summoning the devil with a thought, the old phone rang. Across the small preview screen, the contact ID 'Giovanni' was displayed. Cyrus hesitated for just a moment before he answered the phone.

"Hello, this is Cyrus," he said, hoping he didn't sound overly enthused by the call.

"Cyrus, so happy to hear your voice again!" Giovanni said from the other line. Wherever he was, it sounded windy, and that made it difficult to hear him clearly. "Can you meet me at the airport this evening?" Cyrus glanced at the clock, and decided Mars could handle the day's reports.

"I think that's more than doable."

**Author's Note:**

> Hi I'm on a Pokemon kick right now, and not terribly too late to join in on AbsoluteControlShipping week! No promises on finishing the week's prompts, but I do have plans for at least two more, so there is that!
> 
> Thank you to every single reader here! You are loved and appreciated <3


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